Zinedine Zidane warns Cristiano Ronaldo “is more motivated” about showing what he can do, while Real Madrid “have the weapons to change things quickly.”
Ronaldo has scored nine goals in only six Champions League games ahead of next week’s last-16 first leg against Paris Saint-Germain, although Zidane assured Madrid’s focus was on Saturday’s visit of Real Sociedad in La Liga.
“I don’t need to prepare anything. All I want is for us to be able to do what we know best for 90 minutes,” the Coach said at a Press conference.
“Before PSG, we have an important League match, so we’ll see what happens. The only thing we want is to do is keep going and get closer to the top without thinking about Wednesday.
“We know that a great match is coming up and we’ll see what happens. Ronaldo? Maybe he’s more motivated right now, wanting to show what he is capable of.
“I’m not worried about what’s been said about him. He’s an exceptional player. He may be worried about not scoring, but he always pops up in important matches.
“It’ll be a complicated match, but we’re not anxious. On the contrary, they’re games that we like to play.
“Benzema? He’s under the same pressure as everyone else. We‘re all in the same boat and what we can do is contribute more to the team.
“Karim’s the first person [who can], but we’re relying on what we do on the pitch. Bernabeu to host the Copa del Rey Final? The club will make a decision. I only care about tomorrow’s game.
“Criticism? I don’t know if it’s a lack of respect, but what I’m interested in is working. I can’t control what’s being said.
“We’re not getting the things we want, but we know what we are and when there are difficult days, we have to endure them with hard work and positive minds because we know we have the weapons to change things quickly.
“Decisive week? We’ll give everything, with the premise of always thinking positive. Only the negatives are drawn, although we’ve done good things recently, such as against Depor or at Valencia.
“We’ve not had consistency. It’s been a problem, but bad things can happen during a season.
“I have a very good squad and we’re still going to try. I don’t know how the season will end, but we’re convinced that we can still do very good things and that’s what interests me.
“PSG? I don’t believe in anything for Wednesday, but what I know is that we’re going to give everything, although no-one knows what’s going to happen.
“We’re focused on [Saturday] so we can be prepared for Wednesday. We want our fans to be with us like always. I’ll always be positive, and we haven’t done everything wrong either.
“I’m interested in my players playing football. After that, when we don’t have the ball, we must be aggressive in a good sense, defend and fight.
“What’s happened to us is a mixture of everything, it’s not just one thing. When things go well, it’s because many things come together to win.
“When things are bad, it’s not just to do with physicality or our heads. We have to try to be consistent, and this year we haven’t won seven or 10 games in a row.
“Still, there are many games left and we can turn everything around. We have the ability to do it.”
